A Bank Vole up the curtain . . .

 One of the two patchwork quilts I bought recently.  Now I have the internet back, I will list them on Ebay.

Not a good way to end an afternoon.  Pippi has worked out that if she lets go of any live rodents in the kitchen, I am able sometimes to rescue them (or else they disappear).  So she's taken to going into the living room or library with them.  If the latter, I stand NO chance of ever finding them again.  I stand a slightly more sporting chance in the living room, but today a suitably desperate Bank Vole made it up inside a curtain.  We managed to shake it down, having opened the French Doors, but it foolishly shot in the opposite direction, and then under the sofa.  It has since been chased up the other curtain . . .  There is currently a stake-out!

I have had a lovely day full of visitors, with my old neighbour Nikki finally making it up here to visit, and Gabby had driven up last night as I was upset, and Tam and Rosie came over today.  They've all gone now, and it's very quiet again.  I shall put the tv on in a moment so I have some background speech and then quickly reheat the other half of the Prawn Curry I made myself last night.  Very tasty it was too.

Whilst Gabby was here (Tam had no free hands because of Rosie), we did a bit more of my challenging jigsaw.  I managed to get a few faces and bits joined up, but I think I'll still be doing it at Christmas!

Yesterday the lovely Dartmoor 2025 calendar I treated myself to arrived (a treat after selling a similarly priced book on Ebay).  The photography is by Tracey Elliot-Reep and absolutely superb.  Each month will bring me great pleasure.

Yesterday it also rained and poured all day long.  I had to go to the Ban in Brecon again, to move across my credit card to NatWest.  I got SOAKED.  Shoes, socks, jacket - and the latter is still a bit damp as I only have the heating on for an hour or so morning and evening.  I was a bit upset over something (not banking related) and so went into WH Smiths and bought myself two magazines - a Christmas patterns Quilting mag, with a free diamonds template, which will be useful.  The other magazine was a Christmas one (haven't bought a Christmas mag for several years now, as I tend to hang on to the old ones).  This was the Your Home Christmas Made Easy, and had some nice veggie options for Christmas and some lovely decor ideas and crafts. Although I didn't spend much on groceries (about £27 in Aldi), I did have to get cat sachets and cat litter, and I got 5 tins of soup for £5 as they are handy for a meal when I haven't been soup making myself. So that doubled the outgoings.  It carried on chucking it down with rain and even though I was coming home at lunchtime, there was already standing water on the roads and the dip by the turn off to a farm half a mile downhill of here, had about 5" of water already.  I tried to put Gabby off coming because I knew the roads would be worse when she set off from Cardiff and she would be driving in the dark, but she is intrepid and came anyway, though she said the road by the Storey Arms was under water and Police were directing traffic.  Apparently the M4 was closed too, at one point (accident I think), and train lines flooded so train cancellations.  It was definitely a Yellow Weather Event day!

I have booked myself an evening out soon, a topic which will be very interesting, and also have a day out planned at Malvern Quilt Festival which is the next 3 days.  My reward I reckon for all the washing up I did at Tam's this week :)

I've been too tired after Malvern to feel much like sewing but did another side on the £15 auction quilt, so half way through now.  I have a little shopping list for the Quilt show, but things I NEED - will have to resist things I would really LIKE!  You will see which prevailed in due course!

Around the Malvern Fleamarket

 I have always loved these beautiful Victorian copper moulds.  Theyr'e difficult to display though unless you have a dedicated dresser shelf or two and some are quite expensive.  They generally sell around £65 - £100 at Fairs.

Most people just sell whatever they have gotten hold of at a reasonable price and of course the house-clearance bods, whatever comes their way from house clearances.  Other dealers are dedicated to toys, glass, certain makers of ceramics, signage etc. I loved the little rocking horse and the corner cupboard.

Various quilts.  Only the dark green pinwheel one looks a UK handmade design.

A sweet little grandad-made? horse.

Above and below: Mr Sign Man, who has some truly splendid ridge tiles this time! He must order these specially.

I think this is French as the English ones never had coloured designs are.  Whenever I see Christening gowns I think of the ones which used to turn up week after week at every auction we went to back in Dorset, selling for about £16 - £18 each (1980s).  Happy times.  How I wish I could turn back the clock.

Here is a nice old hand-quilted quilt.  I don't think those are Carmarthenshire patterns, but it could well be Welsh, bearing in mind Malvern isn't too far from the Welsh border.

An unusual (French I think) street scene made from paper.

Another lovely horse needing a rocker to be useful again.

The Maypole Dairy had strong links with Denmark.  My grandad, who was a grocer for the West Country years of his life, worked for them and I always think of him when I see a Maypole Dairies piece.  I have resisted temptation thus for as they aren't cheap. 

A couple of stalls next to one another with some interesting pieces.  I especially liked their re-purposing of an old and faded hexi quilt into other things - will see if I can make a couple of the hexi Christmas trees, using some of the beautiful Liberty fabrics I got in the August Fair here.

I have some fine woollen fabrics with stripes to make the stripey one on the left.

Great stalls to make you stop and look.

Oh look, that's me reflected in the mirror!  I had a lovely day, but was very tired after sleeping badly the night before - cat zoomies - and then being woken by them at 4 a.m. and that was it for the night.

I am about to force myself to go for a walk.  It's cold and damp out there and my body is tired, but needs the exercise.

Wonderful Things and a £10 day at Malvern

 

Isn't this gorgeous?  I was taking a photo of it as the price tag of £75 meant it was way beyond my indulgence level, especially as I only had £20 left in my purse!  "Oh!" I exclaimed to the young lady whose stall it was, "How I wish I had come across this one before you found it!" and we fell into conversation.  She could tell I was a quilt maker and blimey, you could have knocked me down with a feather when she said I could have it for £10!!!  Did she misread her price?  Had she had it for a long time and had no interest?  Well, perhaps, but she said she wanted it to go to someone who really appreciated it and understood it - she could barely sew a button on, so something like this seemed impossibly complicated to sew.   Well, I patted her arm and spluttered my thanks.  It is gorgeous - Victorian, made using real silk dress remnants (some sadly shredded through time) and cotton velvet.  It's folded in 4 (and has been for a long time so sadly will be creased into that shape until laid out to relax. It's probably about 48" square when opened out.  I am thrilled to bits with it and will love it and cherish it, but perhaps not forever.

This was another indulgence I spotted it as I was on my way out.  Chap had this and another early Torquay piece.  They date from around 1900.  He wanted £30 the pair, but I said I would just have one and offered £10. A good Kingfisher bowl has gone into stock to make room for this on my display shelf.  The 1821 date on this is spurious.

I found the most amazing stand with JUST my sort of things on and spent £100 there.  I am still researching the things and some are so nice (rare) that they will probably end up with me.  We shall see. I was only sad that I had gone later than usual so I wasn't driving most of the way in the dark and two other dealers had gotten to his stall before me and spent £1000 between them - gosh, I wonder what wonderful things I missed . . .  one of them was an angel, as I heard his wife mention it.

Here is one thing I bought there and it will go to the next Fair with me.  A lovely antique Moroccan door (for a big cupboard I think).

I love the designs on it - especially the compass one in the recess and the fabulous hand made nails, hinges and door lock. 

Here's another Moroccan door lock:

Worryingly, Pippi was on the road as I drove back up the hill (Sundays are quiet here).  I think I may have to keep her in on Sundays in future, as she was about 50 yds down the road and any car could have killed her.  Not a thought I want to harbour every time she is out.

I hope you all had a lovely weekend.

Playing catch up

 

A view of the Brecon Beacons yesterday.  I will try and answer some of your comments tomorrow, but I am off to Malvern after all (Fleamarket) and I have had Danny and little "I" visiting today so have had a busy day.  It was lovely to see them again and Lulu was down with "I" all day, she loves her.  Anyway, Danny managed to get around the aerial problem I have here (which stops me getting Freeview).  I can now get Freeview, as long as it's not live viewing.  I can cope with that.  I also have Channel 5 again (hurray) and am watching All Creatures Great and Small (thanks for the prompt Danette).  I've just been watching a couple of back programmes of DNA Journey, which I really enjoyed.  I am looking forward to doing some family history research again next week.

I will try and answer emails on my gmail account (one I rarely check, apologies) and the reason the scenery is browner in the header photo is that it is largely moor grass, with bracken too, rather than tended grazing.  Back tomorrow.

SANITY RESTORED - BACK ON LINE AGAIN!!!

 

This is where I sat eating my car picnic today - up on the Eppynt range, looking roughly in a Southerly direction.  This is an Army range and was - like the little Dorset village of Tyneham - taken over by the Army during WWII and never handed back . . .  The little squares of fir trees are to help troops find cover when on exercise up there - as in military manouevres.  Red Flag flying today so they will be up there practicing with live ammo.

Having been told that we were meant to have internet restored yesterday a.m. (and then weren't) and given a "by Monday afternoon" date when I chased it up, I expected to have the weekend still quiet and lonely here.  I was delighted to find a new pole was being put in when I got back to our track.  I couldn't pass them so parked the car up.  When I went down  a little later, blimey, Openreach were there, and putting all the wires up again.  Finally got Internet back about an hour ago, and what a relief it is.  Life here is very quiet without the interaction with the outside world.

Now I have over 100 emails to deal with (in the morning) and I need to catch up on blogs too.  I have a freezing cold walk on Kinder Scout on Youtube, in the background, and it is so good to have a break from the silence of the past week.

Back in the morning.

Someone's getting very steady on her feet!  Doesn't she just wish she could run about and cause mischief :)

Abandoned!

 Typing this at the Library as I have had no internet at home now for over a week, and it will be net Monday (earliest - depends whether Openreach pull their finger out to get to us).  a lorry backed into our pole and it's 8 feet out of kilter at the top with a bevy of lines hanging down connected to thin air.  I also have NO tv.  As you may remember I couldn't get a good signal for terrestial tv, and still can't.  So am relying on DVDs for company in the evenings, as I sit and sew hexies for the vintage quilt I'm finishing for the lady who handed it to the charity shop.  Sigh.

I will try and keep you updated via the Library computer, but just wanted you to know that I am fine - if very fed up - and missing everyone.  Back anon.  Have a good weekend.

An outing to the Vet's after all

 

The invalid . . .

Although Alfie's abscess has been draining, he is clearly sore from it and it wasn't draining as well as I liked, so down the vet's we went.  He had to be dragged out of the cat carrier, even when it was up on end!, but was good once out and has had painkillers and antibiotics.  I have ongoing painkillers to give him.  I needed to get wormers and flea treatments for them all, as they got missed with Keith's demise.  As they hadn't seen L. Whale, they couldn't give him a combo as presumably, they didn't know his weight, even though I said that Alfie had just been weighed and he was heavier than him.  But he had to have a separate wormer and flea treatment and the flea treatment only came in packs of 3 (really?!).  So of course, I had to go down that route as it must be cheaper than taking him in, having him checked/weighed in order to get the Combo. The bill, oh yes, the bill - I nearly swooned.  £144 please!  For Alf's check over and meds and the wormers/flea stuff.  Yeesh.  It is just as well I am a resourceful cook as I shall have to make sixpence do the work of a shilling THIS month.  I shall be emptying the freezer and at least then I can refill the top half of the fridge-freezer with the contents of the table-top one and Tam can have that back to sell for me - as it will sell better in Aberystwyth than our backwater here.  That will be less electricity being used in future anyway.  I dare say the fridge freezer (which is in its teens now) will promptly then give up the ghost!

Anyway, I have got a local company coming out to see about unblocking the drains tomorrow, and have emailed the Handyman for a Quote on replacing two roof tiles (bearing in mind he wants danger money to use a ladder . . .) and a copy of Keith's Will is ready for collection when I go to see the Bank in Brecon later in the week.  I have paid yesterday's cheque into my savings account, so that's a positive.

Christmas will be very frugal, but I can still make nice edibles and Danny's present to everyone is a very good bottle of wine to go with the meal.

Rosie is now sitting up and Tam sent a lovely photo of her sitting up and playing with an interactive toy.  I have bought her the book Tam asked for as a gift for her (for the future), which is a book in Welsh about Celtic legends, and championing the strength and bravery of the female characters (Dros y Mor a'r Mynyddoedd: Straeon Merched Dewwr y Celtiaid.)  Rosie will of course be bilingual from the start as Tam uses her Welsh language skills at work all the time.  

Right, 2nd half of last night's prawn stir fry now, and then I will set to and bake a Chocolate Apple Cake to be able to offer to new neighbour's friend who is coming round for a cuppa tomorrow and a chat tomorrow.  I feel sorry for him as he has been roughing it out in the cottage, which has no heating and is a cold, damp and miserable building site really.  He's off back home for the winter, and who can blame him?